Seattle Seahawks Malcolm Smith celebrates an interception touchdown with Byron Maxwell against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII in East Rutherford, New Jersey, February 2, 2014. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

As usual, Marshawn Lynch chose to speak through his actions. The Seattle Seahawks running back had typically little to say in the wake of his team’s 43-8 win over the Denver Broncos at Super Bowl XLVIII, answering four questions in his post-game interview, only one of which ran to more than five words. The win was a “dream come true”, his touchdown run “kicked it all off, boss”, and this day was the best of his life, “next to being born”.

But the sincerity of those comments was evident in the Seahawks’ locker room, where Lynch, wrapped up in a big red jacket and with a ski mask covering all but his eyes, burst into spontaneous dance, turning a nearby stereo up to full volume and shimmying from side to side. He stopped only to hug passersbys, whether they be team-mates, coaches or even the journalists he had been evading all week.

That routine was interrupted only by the arrival of Pete Carroll, charging straight for the middle of the room after completing his own media obligations. After commanding his players to gather round, the head coach roared his way through a celebratory speech. “You guys never backed off,” he bellowed. “You kept believing. You kept fighting.”

When he was done, the players joined in the call-and-response chant they have been practicing all year. “We all we got!” came a voice from the centre of the huddle. “We all we need!” ran the thunderous reply.

There was a genuine sense of shared celebration, of a team achievement much more than a collection of individual ones. Linebacker Malcolm Smith, named as the game’s Most Valuable Player, was quick to deflect praise away from himself and onto his colleagues. “I’m just here to represent the defense,” he said of his award. "I played well tonight and I had a couple of opportunities. You’ve seen guys out here make those type of plays and tonight was my turn. I’m here and it’s definitely on behalf of them.”

Cornerback Richard Sherman, who left MetLife Stadium in a walking boot after suffering an apparent ankle injury during the game, struck a similar chord. “We’re a bunch misfts, in some ways: fifth-round [draft pick] Kam Chancellor, sixth-round Byron Maxwell, fifth-round Richard Sherman, fourth-round KJ Wright, undrafted Michael Bennett. Cliff Avril, ‘Big’ Red Bryant, [Brandon] Mebane – lot of guys that not a lot of people have heard of, who probably should be Pro Bowl, and All-Pros, and things like that.

“I think [the world] learned how complete of a team we are, [and] how complete our defense is. It’s not just the Legion of Boom back there.”

They are a unit with no shortage of confidence. Asked if he was surprised at how easily they had been able to contain Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos’ record-breaking offense, Chris Clemons insisted that he was not. “I mean, you give us two weeks to prepare for anybody, with our defense, you’ve got a problem on your hands,” said the linebacker. “We came out, and we showed exactly how we work.”

From the other side of the ball, wide receiver Doug Baldwin struck a similar note. “We expected that,” he said when asked about the lopsided nature of the win. “When you have a dominant defense like we do, it doesn’t matter who their quarterback is, who their offense is, they’re going to do a good job. They told me all week that they had the ability to stop them, so we no doubt that they were going to do that.”

So what comes next, then, for this young group so full of self-belief? “Come back and do it again,” said Maxwell. “Right now we’re going to enjoy this, though. This is a once in a lifetime type opportunity.”

And how exactly did the 25-year-old, who forced a fumble on Sunday, plan on celebrating this achievement? “Sleep, man! I just want to sleep! I just want to lay in a bed to be honest with you brother. It’s been a long season, and the hard work paid off, and I just want to sleep and enjoy this.”